Garden Insurance

Gardening is a rapidly growing business in the UK. The horticultural industry is blossoming by 18% every year, and Britons spend more than £3 billion a year on plants, furniture and other items for their garden, according to the Horticultural Trades Association http://www.the-hta.org.uk.

Direct Line, the insurance company, estimates that British gardens contain a total of £12.2 billion of valuable items. That’s an average of just over £300 per home.

Then there’s the increasing number of householders who are happily paying between £3,000 and £6,000 for ‘makeovers’ by professional garden designers.

All this outlay, which is increasing as gardening becomes more and more popular, means people’s private outdoor spaces are in greater need of insurance.

Gardens are now nearly as rich pickings as houses, and one in ten of the UK’s millions of green-fingered homeowners is likely to suffer theft from their garden. Most commonly stolen items include lawnmowers, ornamental gnomes, tools, furniture, pond equipment, hanging baskets and even the plants themselves.

Then there is the danger of mindless vandalism, as well as destruction by extreme weather conditions, such as snowstorms and gales, and unseen events, like falling trees.

However, reveals Direct Line, damage is most commonly caused by something far less harrowing: parties and barbecues – especially ones at which young children are guests or when a lot of alcohol is flowing.

In the first seven months of 2005, claims on garden insurance policies amounted to £423 million – a significant increase on the £374 million average for the previous three years.

However, this rise in claims doesn’t accurately reflect the amount of investment being made in people’s gardens, and many householders still do not fully appreciate the value of their lawns and flowerbeds. Nor do they understand the true expense involved in replacing damaged or stolen items.

Check your home insurance policy. Your garden may already be fully covered by it – if you’re lucky. Only ten or so insurers in the UK offer garden cover as part of standard home policies – and that is sometimes limited.

If you are not covered (which is far more likely) then you will find that a number of high street and internet lenders offer insurance for your back yard. Companies include Direct Line http://www.directline.com, Norwich Union http://www.norwichunion.com, More Than http://www.morethan.com, RHS Home and Garden Insurance http://www.rhsinsurance.co.uk and Saga http://www.saga.co.uk.

The Association of British Insurers http://www.abi.org.uk, which represents the collective interests of the UK’s insurance industry, expects more of its members to introduce policies tailored for customers’ gardens.

It should be noted, however, that regular household insurance usually covers damage to sheds and other outbuildings, as well as neighbours’ property, regardless of a specific garden policy.

But given that the average contents of a shed is estimated at more than £1,000, it is worth insuring against theft of your gardening tools.

For a small monthly premium, most lenders will offer cover up to around £1,000 – though there is likely to be a modest excess of about £50.